Civil Aviation says U.S. rating misleading
In 1994 the United States/Federal Aviation Administration, US/FAA, said that flight safety in Belize rates as category three, meaning that Belize fails to meet minimum safety requirements. On Thursday the Civil Aviation Office announced that the Government of Belize will draft the New Belize Air Navigation Order. Included among the changes is the recommendation that all airline companies purchase Cessna Caravans or planes with comparable technological advances when they need to expand their line of single engine planes capable of flying over water. Efrain Gomez, the Director of Civil Aviation, says even though the prior laws were somewhat antiquated, Belize has always had a good track record in safety. He says the claim by the U.S. that Belize is a category three country is unsubstantiated.
Efrain Gomez, Director of Civil Aviation
“Frankly we do not agree; we have voiced this to the U.S. Embassy, to the I.C.A.O., International Civil Aviation Organization also. So that’s my opinion about the category three. And to be frank, the I.C.A.O. also condemns this arbitrary; they call it categorization of one state to another. The same way they have to categorize one state, Belize could go and categorize the United States and this is the criticism most countries have done.
They did it because they are a super power and they can impose things on other states but if they are given an assessment, they would fail an assessment.”
Gomez says the single engine planes do not jeopardize the safety of the passengers and as such Belizean operators will not be required to switch to larger engines. He says the relatively short distances the planes fly would allow the pilot to land safely in the event of an emergency.
Efrain Gomez
“A single engine aircraft like the ones we have here, Cessna one-seven-two, it’s only from here to the closest island. To San Pedro is only between fifteen and twenty minutes for the slowest aircrafts that are flying here in Belize. Now we have islands in between, so for them to fly safe or in accordance with the regulation maybe they would have to go to two or three thousand of height and that would make them comply with the law. And if they are maintained properly, they would be flying safely.”
In fact, in a press release from the office of Civil Aviation, local operators are only being “encouraged” to switch to a larger model plane for economic reasons.
Q: “So the switch is from a financial point of view than it is from safety?”
Efrain Gomez
“I would say so. It’s a financial aspect. Companies, businesses go from a financial aspect.”
Q: “So in your opinion it’s safe to fly in Belize?”
Efrain Gomez
“Certainly. I fly every day, every week, I would say.”
Janelle Chanona for News Five.
The draft will incorporate over two hundred pages of regulations. The Civil Aviation Department says that in 1996 the International Civil Aviation Organization did note some violations but that they were immediately corrected and the department went so far as to hire an Operations Officer to ensure appropriate safety standards.
